Crazy stat shows how incredible Cody Bellinger’s rookie season has been

Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger showed off his immense power again on Saturday, dropping down to one knee and driving a ball roughly 400 feet for his 31st home run of the year.

Despite missing most of April, Bellinger is on pace to hit nearly 50 home runs in 2017. But if he gets 40, Bellinger will have done something that no player his age has done since Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews in 1953.

✔@jonmorosi

Cody Bellinger is on pace to be 1st @MLB player with a 40-homer year, in an age-21 season or younger, since Eddie Mathews in 1953. @Dodgers

Mathews finished that 1953 season with 47 home runs for the then Milwaukee Braves.

Bellinger has been one of baseball’s best stories in 2017, hitting home runs at a prolific rate. He certainly has a long way to go to get to what Mathews did for his whole career. But Bellinger is well on his way to being one of the game’s best power hitters for a very long time.